Tuesday, October 9, 2012

NFL Week 5: Top 3 Performances

Contributed by Sam Cheetham.
Area Manager, USA Sport Group.

A very exciting week 5 and here are the top 3 performances of the week!

Arizona 3-17 St Louis

St Louis' defense were dominant and gave the Cardinals offensive line a battering. Kevin Kolb was offered no protection and was sacked 9 times! Arizona has scored at least 20 points in their first four games taking them to 4-0. However, credit to St Louis D limiting them to just 3 points; not only did they regularly get to and pressure Kolb, but also limited the Cardinals to 45 rush yards on 17 attempts. Bradford and St Louis offense didn’t set the world alight, but they managed to get enough points on the board to pull out the win. The highlight was a 52 yard touchdown pass to rookie Chris Givens.

San Diego 24-31 New Orleans

Drew Brees managed to break a half century old NFL record by throwing a touchdown pass in his 48th consecutive game and to add to Drew’s jubilance the Saints also managed to record their first win of the season. This was aided by the Saints defense who prior to the game where the worst in the league, but managed to come up big with 5 sacks and forcing Rivers into two costly mistakes in the fourth quarter; 1 interception and 1 fumble. However, the night was all about Brees who even managed to convince the league to allow suspended coach Sean Payton in to the building to watch the record be broken.

Green Bay 27-30 Indianapolis

Andrew Luck had an impressive game, highlighted with the second half come back to show everybody why he was the number 1 pick. A win against Green Bay is not as impressive as it would have been a year ago, as the Packers seem to be in turmoil at the minute. However, this is still the biggest scalp of Luck’s young career. It could have been so different though as Mason Crosby had the chance to send the game into overtime but he could not convert on his 51 yard field goal attempt. Luck game through when he was needed, bringing the Colts to 2-2 having trailed 21-3 at half time.

Play of the Week

Joe McKnight had a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown managing to dodge and weave through tackles before diving into the end zone. This brought the Jets within striking distance of upsetting the Texans and should of inspired the rest of the team. However, Mark Sanchez did not get the message, throwing an interception on the final drive. When will it be Tebow time???